ABOUT us

OUR MISSION

#ENOUGH: Plays to End Gun Violence calls on teens to confront gun violence by creating new works of theatre that will spark critical conversations and incite meaningful action in communities across the country. Our mission is to promote playwriting as a tool for self-expression and social change, harnessing this generation's spirit of activism and providing a platform for America's playwrights of tomorrow to discover and develop their voices today.

#ENOUGH IS ABOUT

YOUTH ENGAGEMENT

#ENOUGH IS ABOUT

YOUTH-LED CREATIVITY

AND, ABOVE ALL, #ENOUGH IS ABOUT

YOUTH-DRIVEN ACTION

OUR STORY

I launched #ENOUGH in 2019 shortly after the consecutive mass shootings in El Paso, TX and Dayton, OH. By then I had already witnessed a powerful youth movement emerge shortly after the senseless shooting in Parkland, FL the year prior. March for Our Lives, Students Demand Action and other activist groups were organized, passionate, and rightfully angry. Young people took to the streets (and continue to do so) to manifest the change they wanted to see in the world while policymakers continuously failed to rise to the challenge.

I was inspired. The purpose of #ENOUGH became clear: lend our stages to amplify this growing voice so that it continues to be heard.

I founded #ENOUGH on the belief that young people can become powerful activists through the art they create. This year's participants believe that as well. Just listen to Demian, a 12th grader from El Paso on why he submitted a play to #ENOUGH:

“I’m an El Pasoan. I know firsthand about the ways an act of gun violence can ripple through a community. I am also a theatremaker, and I saw #ENOUGH as my opportunity to use my art to help convey to others a glimpse of what gun violence can do to not only a community at large, but also an individual.”

This generation has proven themselves to be the generation of empathy, justice, and equity - everything the theatre celebrates. Their voice and perspective are what we desperately need to be listening to, both in society and in the theatre. That's why #ENOUGH exists and that is our mission.

- Michael Cotey, #ENOUGH founder and producer

GET INVOLVED

MEET THE TEAM

Michael Cotey

Founder & Producer

Michael is a Chicago-based, Milwaukee-bred theatre-maker. He has directed at Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Next Act, First Stage, Northwestern University, UW-Madison, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Illinois Wesleyan University and Youngblood Theatre. Michael has also assisted at Goodman Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespeare, Steppenwolf, and Milwaukee Rep, for prominent directors, like Tony Award-winners Mary Zimmerman and Robert Falls. From 2009-2013 he was the Founding Artistic Director of Youngblood Theatre in Milwaukee. Regularly celebrated by the theater community and the press as one of the most exciting new Milwaukee theater ventures in decades, Youngblood provided professional opportunities to early-career emerging artists, introduced the works of provocative new playwrights, and staged theatre in raw found spaces that invoked Milwaukee’s storied industrial past. He's taught at UW-Madison, Roosevelt University, Northwestern, and UW-Milwaukee. He was both the member of Directors Lab Chicago and the FAIR Program at Oregon Shakespeare. Michael graduated from UW-Milwaukee with a BFA in Acting and from Northwestern University with an MFA in Directing. In 2014 he was named UWM’s “Graduate of the Last Decade.” www.michaelcotey.com

Si Mon' Emmett

Program Associate

Si Mon' is a native of Dallas who graduated with a BFA in the UTeach Theatre program at the University of Texas at Austin. Now a certified educator for theatre arts, she works both in classrooms and in administration for the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre as the Education and Youth Programs Associate. Her background in TYA (Theatre for Young Audiences) spans from acting to directing and devising. Previously, she has worked with Dallas Children’s Theater, Victory Gardens Theater (Chicago), and VORTEX Repertory Company and Teatro Vivo (Austin). Her online portfolio can be found at https://semmett3.wixsite.com/emmett-portfolio

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

CLICK ON IMAGES FOR BIOS

25348829_2087119961503212_27985331536955

Mara Richards Bim

Artistic Director

Cry Havoc Theater

Hallie Gordon

Artistic Producer & Artistic Director

Steppenwolf for Young Adults

Alvaro Saar Rios

Resident Playwright

Chicago Dramatists

Willa Taylor

Dir. of Education & Engagement

Goodman Theatre

Jonathan Shmidt Chapman

Executive Director

Theatre for Young Audiences/USA

Barbara Pitts McAdams

Co- Creator

#Here Too Project

Michael Rohd

Artistic Director

Sojourn Theatre Company

John Weidman

Libbretist, Book Writer

Idris Goodwin

Director

Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center

Bill Rauch

Artistic Director

Perelman Center for the Arts

Sarah Ruhl

Playwright

2020 #ENOUGH SELECTION

COMMITTEE AKA TEAM AWESOME

Once the Call for Submission period has ended, a group of theatre professionals will read all of the plays submitted and name a group of 20 finalists. Those 20 plays will be read by the #ENOUGH Selection Committee, a group of award-winning and nationally recognized playwrights.

They will then select the winning plays to be read in #ENOUGH Nationwide Reading and give personal feedback to the young authors of those plays.

Get to know the sheer awesomeness of the #ENOUGH Selection Committee by clicking on their image for their full bio!